Blog | Charlotte Tomlinson | Performance Coach for Musicians

Interview Part 1: Symptoms of performance anxiety in musicians

Jan 31, 2022

Interview Part 1: Symptoms of performance anxiety in musicians

A bit of adrenaline that just heightens everything can be positive but the fight-flight response can cause big problems for musicians

Charlotte Tomlinson

Dec 21, 2021

Funny musical videos

A musician friend sent out a wonderful musical Advent calendar this year with a funny video for each day. Here are a few to lift the spirits

Charlotte Tomlinson

Oct 12, 2021

My life of writing fiction: Skakoon

Skakoon: A magical adventure story for 9-12 year olds I want to let you know a bit about my other life: writing fiction. I have spent a...

Musicians and Trauma: finding emotional safety

Charlotte Tomlinson

Oct 5, 2021

Musicians and Trauma: finding emotional safety

Most of people I work with have had trauma of one sort or another. I support musicians in finding a way they can feel safe when they play

Charlotte Tomlinson

Jul 22, 2021

Preparation and focus

A young professional came for a session and his main concern was preparation. He had a lack of confidence in his own views on practice..

Performance anxiety: permission to be fallible

Charlotte Tomlinson

Jul 19, 2021

Performance anxiety: permission to be fallible

I have seen the influence of bullying teaching impact musicians in a way that they are terrified of not being perfect enough

International Piano Magazine: how musicians have managed lockdowns

Charlotte Tomlinson

Jun 15, 2021

International Piano Magazine: how musicians have managed lockdowns

I wrote an article in May for the International Piano Magazine about how three British pianists had managed lockdowns in the UK.

Charlotte Tomlinson

May 11, 2021

The benefits of nature and taking space

The calm and peace that comes from more spaciousness in our lives rebalances us away from our anxious, panicky selves that need to be doing

Charlotte Tomlinson

Apr 20, 2021

Perfectionism: a tough task master

Perfectionism is the drive to give a ‘perfect performance’ with a feeling of not being good enough - dangerous for a performer.

Finding colour and projection in lockdown performances

Charlotte Tomlinson

Mar 29, 2021

Finding colour and projection in lockdown performances

During this time of masks and distancing we need to let go of muted lockdown playing and find colour and projection again in performance

Lockdown one year on: How have musicians adapted

Charlotte Tomlinson

Feb 22, 2021

Lockdown one year on: How have musicians adapted

Covid-19 has had a monumental impact on musicians: concerts cancelled, incomes have plummeted and musicians have become experts in Zoom.

Managing emotions & lockdown with a broken wrist

Charlotte Tomlinson

Jan 24, 2021

Managing emotions & lockdown with a broken wrist

Musicians are struggling: not being able to work, losing a sense of identity. How do we manage our emotions with these challenges?

Clara Schumann: her teaching as seen by her students

Charlotte Tomlinson

Dec 21, 2020

Clara Schumann: her teaching as seen by her students

have collected together a few wonderful historical recordings both recorded in the 1950’s of two of Clara Schumann’s best students

Making the best of conflicting views in chamber music rehearsals

Charlotte Tomlinson

Nov 16, 2020

Making the best of conflicting views in chamber music rehearsals

I remember Joan talking about how to rehearse chamber music, saying you need to air your views, explore them and disagree if needs be

Human connection & kindness within Covid restrictions

Charlotte Tomlinson

Oct 13, 2020

Human connection & kindness within Covid restrictions

This student reminded me of the importance of human connection, in this case through creative expression.

Practice and performance: creating the right environment

Charlotte Tomlinson

Sep 27, 2020

Practice and performance: creating the right environment

Can we allow our practice time to be a sacred environment where there is freedom and space to be creative?

Charlotte Tomlinson

Aug 25, 2020

Practice and another take on warming up

One of the most frequent questions I am asked as a teacher is ‘Can you show me a good warm up?’

Managing stress and trauma as a professional musician

Charlotte Tomlinson

Jul 29, 2020

Managing stress and trauma as a professional musician

I've been working with a principal player in one of the big national British orchestras whose life as a musician is about surviving & coping

Managing adrenalin: winding down after a performance

Charlotte Tomlinson

Jun 29, 2020

Managing adrenalin: winding down after a performance

We musicians often discuss preparing for our performance and the performance itself, but rarely do we consider what happens post-performance

Singing when your body is tight with anxiety & finding emotional safety

Charlotte Tomlinson

May 13, 2020

Singing when your body is tight with anxiety & finding emotional safety

I worked with a soprano at one of the main British conservatoires who was petrified at singing in front of the vocal department.